Whisenhunt, Cards face bye dilemma

Part of Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt would like to put his players in full pads during this off week and drive them like a cheap rental cars.

Then, there's the more pragmatic side, which realizes some of his players need rest and recuperation from the bruises and sprains endured in the first three games.

The challenge for Whisenhunt will be finding a balance between the crack of a whip and the pat on the back.

Meanwhile, he, like most of the team's fans, seems to be wondering what makes this group tick.

After his team's victory over Jacksonville in Week 2, Whisenhunt referred to the Cardinals (1-2) as a good team that had been lurking below the surface. In a 31-10 loss Sunday night to Indianapolis, the Cardinals submerged again.

The Cardinals will have short practices Wednesday and Thursday, then break for a three-day weekend. The two workouts will include plenty of work on fundamentals, Whisenhunt said.

"It's a little bit tougher when the bye week comes this early, as far as what we can work on," Whisenhunt said. "This is a chance for us to get healthy, No. 1. And No. 2, work on some of the fundamental things we need to work on, whether it's our pass sets, with our offensive line passing off stunts, working on our coverage responsibilities, working on our alignments and assignments defensively.

"Some of those things at times we have done very well and at times we look like we are a bush-league team."

Having an off week after only three games is not ideal, because the club faces 13 consecutive games to end the season. But there is no shortage of things for the Cardinals to address.

The pass protection has been shoddy in two of the three games. The run game has been inconsistent. The defense has been both impenetrable and porous, often in the same afternoon. The Cardinals have played as if they have lost long-term memory and have no recollection of what took them to their first Super Bowl last February.

"I don't know what the perfect time for a bye is," quarterback Kurt Warner said after Sunday's loss to the Colts. "If you're not playing well, you always want to get back onto the field. We know what we're capable of doing. And that's the thing I think is most frustrating, that we know what we're capable of doing and we're just not doing it right now.

"So maybe this week and half or two weeks will give us an opportunity to go back to the fundamentals and start doing the little things again."

Those little things include working on such basics as pass sets by offensive linemen and assignment errors by defenders. But what's worrisome is that it's some of the veterans who need the fundamental work.

The offensive tackles, Mike Gandy (ninth year) and Levi Brown (third year), have struggled in pass protection. An assignment error by safety Adrian Wilson (ninth year) cost the team a touchdown against the 49ers. The top two running backs, Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells, have fumbled three times, and the defense has yielded long touchdown drives at critical times.

"Coming into that bye week we will get a chance to get back to the basics and start from square one," cornerback Bryant McFadden said. "It is still a long season with 13 games left. Nobody wins the Super Bowl in the month of September."

But a slow start can certainly take a team out of contention. The Cardinals are 0-2 at home, after losing only four games there in the previous two seasons. Three of the next four games are on the road, and home games against the Vikings and Packers remain.

"I don't think that three games in you hit the panic button, or that you think you want to blow up what we are doing," Whisenhunt said. "I think we just need to focus on playing a little bit better, playing a little more consistent, and we will have our opportunities to do that."

Notes

The Cardinals are hoping the off week gives several players the chance to overcome injuries. Warner has been nursing a sore right shoulder since the first game. Defensive end Darnell Dockett suffered a sprained ankle against the Colts. Safety Matt Ware has missed two games because of a shoulder injury, and defensive end Kenny Iwebema has been out because of an ankle sprain.